Witness (UK band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Witness


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = flagicon|England Wigan, England
Genre = Alternative rock, Lo-fi, Americana
Years_active = 1997-2003
Label = Valiant Recordings, Island Records
URL = [http://www.witness.uk.com/ witness.uk.com]
Current_members = Gerard Starkie Ray Chan Dylan Keeton John Langley Julian Pransky-Poole
Past_members =

Witness were a British Alternative rock band formed in Wigan, England in 1997.

Band Members

* Gerard Starkie (Vocals, Guitar)
* Ray Chan (Guitars)
* Dylan Keeton (Bass Guitar)
* John Langley (Drums)
* Julian Pransky-Poole (Guitars)

Early History

Gerard Starkie and Ray Chan first met at Wigan & Leigh College, Wigan, and spent their early years in and out of various local bands that didn't quite match the sound that they were both hoping for. As a result, they decided to take a break from searching for potential new band members and set about writing and recording numerous 4-track demos. The next member to join the line-up which would eventually go on to become "Witness" was bassist, Dylan Keeton, who had placed an advert in the local Loot newspaper. They went on to add both drummer, John Langley, and guitarist, Julian Pransky-Poole, (initially to enhance their live sound during gigs, but later as a full-time member) to the band.

Breakthrough

Before settling on the name, "Witness", the band initially played a handful of gigs in nearby Manchester under the names, "Siren" and "High Mountain Jag", in mid-1997.

Witness' big break came in the same year, as they ventured down to London to watch The Verve support Oasis at Earl's Court. Ray, a friend of Nick McCabe's since studying Art at Wigan Tech., began talking to someone backstage at the gig who did press for The Verve (Tim Vigon). He passed on a demo tape and just a week later they had signed a six album deal with Island Records. At this stage, Witness had yet to settle on a band name (they had also yet to play a gig under the name, "Witness"), and as such their record contract simply referred to them as the " 'Wigan Band' ".

The initial press attention enjoyed by the band came as a result of Ray's friendship with Nick, and so, comparisons with The Verve were rife. The NME even went on to unfairly refer to the band as "Nick McCabe's Mates Band", during the period in which they were still nameless. Moreover, Witness were co-managed by The Verve's press officer, Tim Vignon (along with Rob Partridge, Chairman of Coalition PR) of Coalition Management.

In 1998, Witness managed to secure support slots on tour with Whiskeytown, The Seahorses and Gene before going on to self-release their debut single, "Quarantine", through Valiant Recordings on November 23rd. The single was released on 7" limited edition vinyl only, with only 1000 copies available.

Their first single release for Island came the following year, with "Scars", released on March 1st 1999. Another single, "Audition", followed later in the year, before their debut album, "Before The Calm", was released on July 12th to critical acclaim, including a 9/10 review in the NME.

The band 'split up' in February 2004 but continued as 'Gerard Starkie' with the same personnel. The following year the band split properly when Ray left, moving to Hong Kong to teach English. Gerard continued to play solo gigs with his first proper solo tour in November 2006 to coincide with a new track The Whispering release on the compilation Tales From The Lux by Lupine Records. Gerard also released a free album on his myspace site around the same time.

In August 2008 it was announced Gerard and Ray would reunite to play a one off gig of Witness material in Hong Kong.

Discography

Albums

*Before The Calm (1999)
*Before The Calm (US Version released as "Witness UK" - 2000)
*Under A Sun (2001)

ingles

*Quarantine (1998)
*Scars (1999)
*Audition (1999)
*Hi-Jacker (1999)
*You Are All My Own Invention (2001)
*Here's One For You (2001)

External links

* [http://www.witness.uk.com/ Official Website (formerly a fansite)]
* [http://www.myspace.com/witnessuk Myspace Page]